Collapsible portable book rest



March 15, 1938. w B R BERT N 2,111,406

Filed April 17, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l I? 7' TOR/V676:

lNl/ENTOR -March 15, 1938.

W. B. RCBERTSON 2,1 11,406

COLLAPSIBLE PORTABLE BOOK REST Filed April 17, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l/Vl/E/VTOR MAL/4MB P0559750 6 T TOR/VEYS Patented Mar. 15, 1938 PATENT OFFICE COLLAPSIBLE PORTABLE BOOK REST William Beveridge Robertson, London, E. C. 4, England Applicationjllpril 17, 1937, Serial No. 137,441 r In Great Britain May 5, 1936 4 Claims.

A known form of book rest comprises a rectangular base to the ends of which are hinged a pair of uprights. When not in use the uprights may be folded inwardly so as to lie flat upon the base. 1

According to the present invention, .a collapsible portable book rest comprises a base, upon which books may be supported, formed at its ends with transverse slots or laterally offset lf) flanges, a pair of uprights, formed .at their lower ends with laterally offset flanges or transverse slots for engagement with said base, and a back the ends of which are formed with male or female members adapted to co-operate with coris responding female or male members, respectively, formed in or on said pair of uprights.

Preferably the outer faces of the uprights are formed with an integral marginal flange and with one or more buttresses which, when the uprights are fitted into the base, prevent the former from falling or being pushed outwardly. The male and female members on the back and the uprights may be formed with co-operating dove-tails for the same purpose.

A preferred form of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompany ing diagrammatic drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of an assembled book rest constructed in accordance with the invention and Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of one end of the book rest shown in Figure 1.

In the preferred form of the invention the book rest is moulded from the synthetic resin sold under the registered trade mark Bakelite, although it may be made from other material, and comprises a hollow rectangular base I, two flanged and buttressed uprights 2 and 8 and a back 4 which may be flat (as shown) or which may consist of one or more slats, bars or tubes.

The base l is formed near each end with a pair of transverse slots 5 and 6 (Figure 2), and has its edges: turned down, the front edge I being turned down to a greater depth than the back edge 8 so that the end edges (one of which is shown at 9) are wedge-shaped and books placed upon the base I thus tend to slide toward the back 4 and are thereby prevented from falling off the base.

Each upright 2 or 3 is formed at its foot with a pair of laterally offset flanges it and I! (Figure 2), the inner and outer faces of each of which are curved in such manner that when they are appropriately inserted in a pair of slots such as 5 and t in the base l, the toe of each flange engages the underside of the base I so that the latter may be lifted by the uprights 2 and 3. Each upright is also formed, on its outer face, with an outwardly turned marginal flange l2 and with a stiffening buttress E3 in the form of a vertical member outstanding from the upright and having its foot resting upon the flange l2. The flange l2 and buttress 13 together prevent the uprights from falling or being pushed over outwardly. The portion of the flange l2 resting upon the base I may be omitted if desired, in which case the lower end of the buttress l3 rests upon the base I.

A slot I4 is also formed on the inner side of each upright 2 and 3, and a slot I5 is formed in the base i near, and parallel with, the back edge.

When it is desired to assemble the book rest, one upright (such as 3) is laid flat upon the base I so that the toes of the flanges Ill and H can be inserted in the slots 5 and 6 respectively in the base I; the upright 3 is then swung to the vertical position so that the toes of the flanges H) and H engage the underside of the base I. The second upright 2 is then similarly fitted into the base I, and the back 4 is simply slid along the two vertical slots (one of which is shown at M) formed on the uprights 2 and 3, until the lower edge rests in the slot 15 in the base i.

If desired, these vertical slots M may be of female dovetail section, the ends of the back then being formed of corresponding male dovetail section. Alternatively, the ends of the back may be bifurcated so as to be of female dovetail section in which case an upstanding ridge of male dovetail section is formed on each upright.

In either case the co-operating dovetails of the back and ends support any outward strain put upon the uprights.

If desired, the lower ends of the uprights 2 and 3 may rest upon the support for the book rest, such as a table, instead of upon the base I, the base then being held between the uprights 2 and 3 by the engagement of flanges, positioned a little way up each upright, with slots in the base.

The base may be arranged to be horizontal instead of sloping downwardly towards the back. It will be apparent also that the offset flanges may be formed on the base and the slots in the uprights.

I claim:

1. A collapsible portable book rest comprising a base, a pair of end uprights for said base, and a back for said rest extending between and engaging'said base and uprights, said base and uprights having interengaging slots and flanges,

respectively, for detachably connecting the same, and said uprights having grooves therein for receiving the ends of said back.

2. A collapsible portable book rest comprising a base upon which books may be supported, and having transverse slots formed at its ends and a groove formed at a longitudinal marginal portion, a pair of uprights having laterally ofiset flanges formed at the lower ends thereof, said flanges engageable insaid slots, and a back, the ends of which engage with said pair of uprights and the base of which engages in said longitudinal groove.

3. A collapsible portable book rest comprising a base upon which books may be supported, and having transverse slots formed at its ends and a groove formed at a longitudinal marginal portion, a pair of uprights each having a laterally offset flange formed at one end thereof and engageable in one of said slots and a groove adjacent one side thereof, and a back, the ends of which engage in said grooves on said uprights and the lower edge of which engages in the longitudinal groove in the base.

4. A collapsible portable book rest comprising a rearwardly inclined base having a groove formed in its rear longitudinal edge portion, a back for said rest having an edge engaged in said groove, and uprights at the ends of said base also having grooves receiving the ends of said back, said base and uprights having interengaging slots and flanges, respectively, and each upright being provided with a marginal flange resting upon said base and a reinforcing buttress extending from its outer face.

WILLIAM BEVERIDGE ROBERTSON. 

